El Camino College Unveils Digital Archive

If your ancestor grew up in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County, perhaps he or she attended El Camino College, a community college located in Torrance.

The recently unveiled ECC Digital Archive (officially known as the El Camino College Student Media Digital Archive Project) provides online access to many resources in which you may find interesting tidbits about your ancestors’ experiences at the school. Included in the archive are all yearbooks and issues of the student newspaper and magazine from 1947-2012.

You can access the archives at http://digitallibrary.elcamino.edu/camino/guest.jsp.

Browse publications or search by name or subject to see what turns up!

Digital image, Denise Spurlock, 2013.

© 2013 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

City of Torrance Veterans Memorial

On 19 March 2002, the City of Torrance, California, dedicated its Veterans Memorial. Located at the corner of Maple Avenue and Torrance Boulevard, the memorial is a lasting tribute to Torrance citizens who made the ultimate sacrifice to their country. An alphabetical list of those memorialized appears below.

"Let me not mourn for those who have died fighting, 

but rather let me be glad that such heroes have lived."

General George Patton

Louis Alvarez

Joseph Anzak, Jr.

Bernard Bailey

Olin Barkdull

Rudolph Beranek

Rudolph Bernasconi

Arnold Bliefernich

Ralph Brightfield

Kenneth Brooks

Clent Brown

Claude Bruce

Gary Bruhn

Bryson Burkholder

James Byrne

Archie Caraway

Paul Carder

Michael Carter

Thomas Carter

Dario Chavez

Ernest Coburn

George Coburn

Morrison Cotner

Donald Craw

Douglas Crawford

Ricardo Crocker

Bert Crossland

Raymond Cruize

Leon Culverhouse

Dan Cunningham

James Daniel

Francis Dietlin

Thomas Dilkess

Michael Dixon

Robert Dodson

Miguel Duarte

Bobby Edwards

Charles Eisenacher

Edward Ernst

George Escobar

Anthony Eversull

Matthew Ferrara

John Fess, Jr.

Nestor Flores

John Foley

John Foster

Perry Franklin

Micah Gifford

Stephen Grant

Gary Grubbs

Jose Gutierrez

Chelsea Hamilton

Thomas Haslet

Robert Hatter

Isaac Heath

James Herlett

Alan Hill

John Hill

Ernest Hill, Jr.

George Isbell

Jesse Johnson

Frank Jones

Herman Jones

James Judge

Mark Judge

Terreace Kandler

Michael Kessel

Bryce Kindrick

William Kirkpatrick

Lupe Lara

Stephen Lewis

Anthony Lugo

Louis Madore

Eugene Markwell

Thomas Martin

Wallace Matayoshi

Danny McMinn

Ruben Merkel

James Mitchell

Garlan Moody

Joseph Mullen

Larry Munoz

Forrest Mutschlek

John Nestor

James Newton

Robert Noble

William Nunn

Richard O'Brien

Vladimir Obidine

Arthur Parker

Raymond Pennington

Milo Plunkett

Theron Price

Thomas Price

James Prowten

Gary Purcell

Fred Quaggin

Floyd Ramsey

Paul Ratliff

John Reynolds

Robert Richardson

Everett Richhart

Larry Robillard

Tony Roomsburg

Paul Sanderson

Warren Sapp

Clarence Scheibler

Williamm Schoolcraft

Robert Searle

Eugene Shaner

Akira Shimatsu

Gregory Simonian

William Sleeth

Addison Smith

Christopher Smith

Edgar Smith

Francis Snee

Robert Stambook

Alex Stewart

William Stewart

Gregory Stone

Eugene Strieker

Rodney Strobridge

Osamu Tamura

Ted Tanouye*

Yukiwo Tanouye

William Tarrance

Richard Thayer

Royce Tidwell

Frederick Tiffany

Kenneth Tudor

Leonard Vorhis

George Walker

Ronald Wanbaugh

Richard Washer

Earl Watson

Frank Webster

Norman Wensel

Walter West

Theodore Weymouth

Ivan Wilcox

Larry Williams

Thomas Williams

Walter Wissel

Brian Wood

Charles Works

Thomas Wright

*Congressional Medal of Honor

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Infographic - California in the 1940 Census

Thanks to Archives.com for preparing this infographic about California in the 1940 census!



© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Countdown to the 1940 Census: Population Explosion!

With just four weeks to go until the release of the 1940 US Census, I thought it might be fun to look at a comparison of population statistics for Southern California for 1940 and 2010..

In 1940, California was the fifth largest state with just over 6.9 million residents; by 2010, the population of 37,253,956. That’s over a 500% increase in 70 years! Los Angeles County alone now has a larger population than some states.

In 1940, there were 44.3 people per square mile in California; it 2010, that number rose to a whopping 239.1 people per square mile. But California still ranks only #13 in population density. Density is much higher in the eastern states.

Los Angeles ranked as the 2^nd largest city in 2010, but it had not even ranked in the top ten U.S. cities until 1920. In 1940, it was the 5^th largest city. Another Southern California city—San Diego—ranked in the top ten in 2010, as the 8^th largest city in the country!

Here’s a comparison of our Southern California population, by county, in 1940 and in 2010:

County	1940 Population	2010 Population	% Increase
Imperial	59,740	174,528	292
Kern	135,124	839,631	621
Los Angeles	2,785,643	9,818,605	352
Orange	130,760	3,010,232	2,302
Riverside	105,524	2,189,641	2,075
San Bernardino	161,108	2,035,210	1,263
San Diego	289,348	3,095,313	1,070
San Luis Obispo	33,246	269,637	811
Santa Barbara	70,555	423,895	601
Ventura	69,685	823,318	1,181

The populations of some counties are still relatively small, but most now boast millions of residents!  Did your parents or grandparents live in Southern California when the 1940 US Census was taken? What do (or did) they think of the population growth that has taken place?

  

Note: In preparing this post, I found an interactive graphic posted by msnbc.com that will let you look at changes in state populations and population density from 1910 to 2010. It’s interesting to play around with.

 © 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Obtaining Vital Records in Los Angeles County

Entrance to LA County Recorder's Office
Digital image, Denise Spurlock, 2011.

Birth, marriage and death records for Los Angeles County are housed at the County Recorder’s Office located at 12400 Imperial Highway in Norwalk. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Los Angeles County provides both certified and informational copies of vital records. If you do not meet the requirements for a certified copy, you may request an informational copy. The only difference is that the informational copy is stamped “informational” across the face of the certificate so that it cannot be used to establish identity. For most genealogical purposes, informational copies are adequate.

If you have all the required information (dates, names, etc.) and want to order a copy of a certificate, I recommend using VitalChek; it is easy to use and, in my experience, turnaround time is 10–15 days. I have also found that if you order more than one certificate, you pay the VitalChek fee for only one.

Los Angeles County also permits viewing of vital records and indexes that are not exempt from public inspection from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This can be a great alternative to purchasing an informational certificate; you can make a transcription instead! There is no charge unless you request that the clerk pull more than five records.

Records available for viewing include births prior to 1905 and from 1964–present, deaths from 1877–present, and marriages from 1852–present. Random searches are not permitted; an application must be completed for each record to be searched and identification shown to the clerk. After submitting the application, you will be allowed to search the indexes for the information needed for the clerk to pull the document (certificate number or marriage book/page). There are restrictions on use of the information; these are listed on the application.

Before placing an order for a certificate or visiting the Recorder’s Office, be sure to review the information posted on the agency’s website for hours of operation, applicable fees, restrictions, etc.

Happy searching!

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Are You Looking in the Right Place?

When California was admitted to the Union in 1850, Southern California consisted of only four counties: San Diego (which was huge!), Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. Take a look at this map from the California State Association of Counties website:

From 1850 to 1907, six additional counties were created. If you are not finding a particular record in one county, perhaps you should be looking in the parent county. Although it does not list all the boundary changes that have taken place over the years  (click here for that), the chart below may be helpful in determining what other counties to check:

County	Created	Parent(s)	County Seat
Imperial	6 Aug 1907	San Diego	El Centro
Kern	2 Apr 1866	Tulare; Los Angeles	Bakersfield 1874-present Havilah 1866-1874
Los Angeles	18 Feb 1850	Original	Los Angeles
Orange	11 Mar 1889	Los Angeles	Santa Ana
Riverside	11 Mar 1893	San Diego; San Bernardino	Riverside
San Bernardino	26 Apr 1853	Los Angeles	San Bernardino
San Diego	18 Feb 1850	Original	San Diego
San Luis Obispo	18 Feb 1850	Original	San Luis Obispo
Santa Barbara	18 Feb 1850	Original	Santa Barbara
Ventura	22 Mar 1872	Santa Barbara	Ventura

There have been no changes in the location of the county seats, except in Kern County, and I don't believe you'll find what you need in Havilah!

Museum, Kern County Court House, Havilah, California; photo from Wikipedia.

Sources:

1. “California County History,” California State Association of Counties  (http://www.counties.org/default.asp?id=5 : accessed 12 January 2012).
2. “California County Creation Dates and Parent Counties” FamilySearch Research Wiki, (https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/California_County_Creation_Dates_and_Parent_Counties : accessed 12 January 2012)

© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research

Tuesday's Tip - Riverside and San Diego Newspapers Online

The following Riverside and San Diego newspapers have been added to the historical newspapers collection available, by subscription, at GenealogyBank:

• Riverside Daily Press, 5/20/1938-10/1/1942
• (San Diego) Evening Tribune, 7/1/1925-1/25/1935
• San Diego Union, 3/1/1908-7/8/1934

Newspapers are a wonderful source of information about our ancestors' lives. I was excited to find references to my grandfather's employment as a watchmaker for J. Jessop & Sons and an advertisement for his watch-making school in the San Diego papers.

By Lewis Hine [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Disclaimer: I have a paid subscription to GenealogyBank. I also have an affiliate agreement. If you click on the GenealogyBank link above and subscribe to their service, I receive a small commission. You pay the same price for a subscription as if you had visited the site on your own.




© 2012 Denise Spurlock, Ancestral Trees Research